The Deaths of 70’s Icons; Michael Jackson & Farrah Fawcett

Farrah Fawcett died Thursday, June 25^th due to complications with her long battle against cancer.  Then just four hours and fifty-eight minutes later, the Los Angeles Times reported that the “King of Pop” Michael Jackson had died.

Farrah was a national sex symbol of the 70’s, a third of the well-known Charlie’s Angels and a star whose beauty seemed to overshadow her natural talent as an actor, artist and mother.  She was 62 years of age.

Michael Jackson was a “pop icon” whose career spanned over a period of almost 40 years.  According to the Guinness Book of World Records, he was “the most successful entertainer of all times”, the first African-American entertainer to successfully transcend and amass listeners and followers of all ages and all ethnicities.  He was 50 years of age.

We never know the day or the time that we will leave this world.  Farrah Fawcett and her family and friends had an idea that her time here on earth was coming to an end sometime soon.  Her family had the benefit of saying goodbye and expressing their love and life ending thoughts.  Her long, difficult and very public battle with cancer finally ended yesterday morning.  This was not a shock; this was something that on some level they were prepared for, unlike the death of Michael Jackson.  My guess would be that Michael Jackson did not wake up yesterday  morning and know that he would only live until the early afternoon, his family certainly did not know.  It was a shock!  I was shocked!  It seems that for most people it was a shock!

I can remember my Dad, my uncle and my cousin driving to Jacksonville to see his production of “Thriller.”  It was an unbelievable show with fireworks and of course his famed “moon walk”.

I am reminded of just how magnificent our bodies are, and yet how fragile our lives can be.  Each Sunday in the fall, giant brutes of men beat and bash each other’s bodies playing football.  Yet few sustain life threatening injuries.  Our Olympians complete feats of athletics’ that is almost unimaginable.  They push their bodies to complete exhaustion.  Yet, one can leave this earth because of a flu, virus, or worse depression leading to death.

I am also reminded of one of my dear friends who was vibrant, exciting and just fun to be with.  But in the blink of an eye, at 60 God decided to take him home.  Like Michael his family had no time to say good bye or I love you or I am sorry for my anger or transgressions.  So, on this day I rehearse and remember a very important lesson that my Grandmother taught me; never let the sun set without making right any wrongs that you may have committed to another.  You may never get the chance to do so.  This is so clear to me because it happened in my own family.  My cousin became estranged from his mother, and did not speak to her for a year.  It broke her heart, and she died of a broken heart.  The sad part was that her son will never be able to say I love you, or I am sorry.

Finally, we all will die one day.  Those who believe in Christ believe that they will have an afterlife with God.  This might be a good time for you to take a personal inventory of where you are with your family and loved ones and also your relationship to Christ.

What is rEEG®?

Referenced-EEG (rEEG®) is the first objective, physiology-based system consistently shown to guide psychiatrists to appropriate treatment in the most challenging patients. It is the culmination of a 20-year effort combining Quantitative Medicine, Psychiatry and Pathology that allows a physician for the first time to objectively determine which CNS (central nervous system) medications will be effective for a particular patient.

Why is rEEG® Not Diagnostic? Psychiatrists and addictionologists are now using this system to guide treatment of patients previously defined as treatment-resistant. Approximately 75% of these patients have, in fact, been successfully treated with currently available medications when rEEG® was utilized to guide treatment.

The problem we solve“There are over 100 medications available for treatment of behavioral disorders. The core problem is not that we need three more. The problem is we need to know how to use the 100 that we have.”- Stephen Suffin, M.D., Co-founder Medical treatment of mental disorders differs fundamentally from the treatment of all other health disturbances in one important way – psychiatrists or addiction specialists have no objective physiologic measurements to guide treatment of mental or addictive illness. Twentieth Century technical advances provided x-rays to the orthopedist, EKGs to the cardiologist and CT scans to the neurologist, but did not lead to any analogous technology for psychiatrists. There is no physiologic brain measurement system available to assist the physician/psychiatrist. Treatment choice primarily has relied on a diagnostic system that considers behavioral observations by the physician/psychiatrist and descriptions of emotion and behavior by patient or family members as the basis for prescribing medications.

Without the benefit of any physiology-based measurement tools, physicians/psychiatrists simply are making an educated guess at what effective therapy might be. Clinical treatment is neither efficient nor completely effective in most cases. Approximately 70% of patients have either no, or an incomplete, response to medications.

Referenced-EEG® (rEEG®) is a patented (issued 2003 and 2007) proprietary technology of CNS that utilizes commonly used digital electroencephalography (EEG) in conjunction with a normative database and a proprietary clinical (symptomatic) database to identify abnormal patient physiology. Appropriate medications are then statistically selected specifically to normalize discovered abnormalities. This process has been correlated to treatment outcome in a database of over 1,600 patients and 13,000 medication trials. The results of the analysis for each patient are produced in a two-page report provided to the physician from the CNS reference laboratory. Treatment directed by rEEG® has led to positive outcomes in over 75% of the 3000+ patients who have previously failed to respond to traditional treatment efforts as indicated in retrospective and prospective trials as well as in pilot clinical programs.ApplicationCNS Response technologies are also being applied in drug research and development, a field that has been plagued by the same lack of physiologic markers as has clinical psychiatric care. rEEG® can be used to improve the success of FDA clinical trials, to provide insight on effective therapeutic dosing of investigational drugs, to identify additional indications for psychiatric medications, to provide insight into effective drug combinations, and to identify psychiatric indications for non-psychiatric medications, to manage adverse neuropsychiatric effects of other medications and for other benefits.

Additional Links

• Why is rEEG® Not Diagnostic?
• Medication Half Life Detox Table
• Physicians Introductory rEEG® Guide
• EEG Techs rEEG® Introductory Guide
• rEEG® Requistion Form
• Sample rEEG® Report

Keeping the fractured Economy from fracturing you or your Family

The challenges of our fractured economy are evident in all of our lives.  We see job loss, business failures, and families in turmoil.   Our national financial structures are being savaged by greed and dishonesty and those failures have cascaded down upon us and our families.  This malaise has touched each and every one of us.  However…

This is not new to our economy; it is consistent with the cyclical nature of how our capitalist system works.  It has happened before, and it will happen again, but in the meantime how do we cope with the loss of our jobs, businesses, and our life savings. 

First things first, we must keep the faith.  Know that God is in control, and that all things in heaven and earth are under His authority.  He gives us practical principles for us to follow when times like this arise. 

Make sure that you are secure in your faith. If not, spend some time with your pastor, priest, rabbi, counselor or your spiritual leader. 

Second, if you have suffered a loss, either job, business or life savings consider the following.  Prepare two budgets; one for your finances and one for  how you spend your time.   Your financial health for your family is critical.  Take the same steps with your family budget as our state is doing with its budget.  What excesses can you remove that will not deter your basic needs; food, clothing, and shelter.  Take a look at your current assets and your long term assets.  If you have toys like boats, cars, four wheelers, etc, consider taking a loss and turn them into cash.  If you are depressed because you have lost your life savings, know that you are not alone.  Also know that this too will pass.  Long term financial success comes to those who spend less than they earn, become lenders not borrowers, and become debt free.  While this may not be where you are now, our present day economy gives us a great reason to begin to put these principles in practice now.  Take time to sit your children down and explain to them what has happened to your family finances.  This can be tricky because we do not in any way want your children to take on more than is appropriate, but we do want to encourage you as families to all learn money principles.  Include them in as much detail as you are comfortable sharing.  Let them become part of the process.  Try to have a family time to pray and to discuss where and what you are doing to manage your financial budget.  This exercise may help with the “I want, and can I have’s”. 

Thirdly, budget your time.  If you have lost your job, or know that a layoff is imminent begin to take steps now to manage your time.  Take the three step process.  Make sure that you are spending Time with God; either by a quiet time, or with other believers of your faith.  Exercise daily and rigorously.  Make sure you sweat every day.  This will keep you mentally sharp and help you fight depression.  Network with everyone.  Men tend to have a difficult time networking.  However necessity causes all of us to do things that are somewhat uncomfortable.  The best place to start networking is with those that are in your same faith, whether at church, synagogue, or temple.  Start with those that you know and those that know you best.  Do not be intimidated to ask anyone for a job or a reference.  Make lists of previous employers, job mates, and Sunday school friends.  Call them personally, ask for a job or a reference that might lead to a job.  Finally, take what you can get for a start.  It is easier to get a better position when you are working than when you are not working.  Do not send out resumes and expect something to happen.  You have to manage this personally with a phone call or a visit. 

Finally, if you are completely overwhelmed, we can help.  We have capable counselors and Psychiatrists within our staff that are trained to help you overcome your challenges.  If you are at the point where you no longer can find answers, call us, we can help.